Flu Visitor Restrictions

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The flu season is off to an early and strong start. Flu activity has been reported as widespread in at least 46 states, including Indiana. IU Health Methodist Hospital is currently restricting visitors to protect patients and prevent further spreading. Learn more.

The care we provide our patients is not limited to a hospital stay. Our IU Health team aims to provide patients with the assistance to pay bills online, fill a prescription, request medical records, enroll in clinical trials, prepare for a visit, and much more.

When you need the most advanced treatment options in the state, you may be referred to the physicians at the Academic Health Center in Indianapolis. At these facilities, we have the technology to provide innovative surgical care, including lung transplants.

Advanced technology. Includes our telemedicine unit, an electronic intensive care unit (ICU), which allows us to monitor care of patients across the state, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Pulmonary function lab on site. Includes a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program, which combines exercise with education, breathing retraining and nutritional guidance to help minimize progression of debilitating symptoms in patients with chronic respiratory impairment.

The pulmonology and respiratory team at IU Health Methodist Hospital work closely with Indiana University Health Transplant to produce outstanding results for lung transplant patients. Backed by over two decades of experience and notable firsts in the field, the IU Health lung transplant program is nationally ranked and is the only lung transplant program in Indiana.

In addition, IU Health Methodist Hospital is one of the few hospitals in Indiana to qualify under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to perform Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS) to help patients with severe emphysema.

Our dedicated surgeons treat a high volume of patients, delivering shorter wait times and enhanced outcomes. As part of a continuum of excellent care, the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program helps patients grow stronger and return to normal function following surgery.

Our Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program strives to slow down and minimize progression of debilitating symptoms in patients with chronic respiratory impairment by combining exercise with education, breathing retraining and nutritional guidance. Individualized programs incorporate education and therapies to bring relief from a variety of pulmonary diseases such as asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis or fibrosis. In addition, patients with lung cancer, lung transplantation, post-thoracic surgery, ventilator dependency and sleep apnea also use pulmonary rehabilitation services at IU Health in order to grow stronger both physically and emotionally.

The Indiana University Health Sleep Disorders Center, accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. Administered by board-registered physicians and technologists, the IU Health Sleep Disorders Center offers a wide range of sleep studies on an outpatient basis, in a comfortable atmosphere.

If a sleep disorder is diagnosed, treatment may include medicine, surgery or a breathing device such as a continuous positive airway pressure mask (CPAP), mandibular advancement device (MAD), nighttime breathing device to maintain Positive Airway Pressure (PAP), or other oral appliances that open the airway. Support groups and education are also available for patients suffering from a sleep disorder.

The pulmonology specialists at IU Health Methodist Hospital provide breathing tests and diagnostic X-rays to determine the best medical therapy for every individual with asthmatic symptoms. In addition to traditional medical interventions for asthma, advanced therapies, such as thermoplasty, use a probe to deliver energy inside the airways to blunt the asthmatic response to triggers.

At the Indiana University Health Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center, our multidisciplinary team specializes in the definitive and timely diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Medical treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) currently include continuously infused, inhaled and oral medicines. At the IU Health Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center of Excellence, our physicians have experience with all types of therapeutics and will work to determine which option is best for you.

These can include:

Diuretics

Blood thinners

Calcium channel blockers

Endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA)

Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors

Prostacyclin analogues

Soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitors

Inhaled nitric oxide

In addition, our physicians have expertise with surgical and interventional treatments for PH, such as:

Atrial septostomy

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)

Ventricular assist devices (VADs)

Lung transplantation

Clinical trials

Our physicians participate in many research trials and have access to the latest clinical trials for pulmonary function and advanced lung failure. Advances in pulmonary research are facilitated by the seamless collaboration across specialties including pulmonology, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery and anesthesia. Indiana University Health’s partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine creates an unparalleled approach to developing future advancements for pulmonary function and advanced lung failure.

Basic science research efforts are focused on the investigation of gender and sex hormone effects on PH development (T. Lahm) mechanisms of cell death in right heart failure (T. Lahm), arrested lung development as a risk factor for PH development in adulthood (T. Lahm/S.Ahlfeld), exercise training in PH (M.B. Brown), effects of cigarette smoke on PH development (T. Lahm/I. Petrache), and mechanisms of right heart failure and hemolysis in acute pulmonary embolism (J. Kline).

Services provided at IU Health Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center​

Comprehensive and interdisciplinary diagnostic work-up

Comprehensive right heart catheterization

Comprehensive echocardiographic evaluation

Initiation and monitoring of PAH specific therapies

Initiation and monitoring of supportive therapies

Atrial septostomy

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)

Evaluation for lung transplantation

Pulmonary rehabilitation/exercise training

Evaluation for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension surgery

Evaluation and optimization before elective surgery

Nutritional support

Psychosocial support

Enrollment in clinical trials

Lung transplantation evaluation

To Schedule an Appointment​

To schedule an appointment with a physician at the IU Health Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center, please call 855.317.PHTN or 855.317.7486.